All Fowler carries with him now of that disappointing contest is the excruciating pain of defeat and a raging desire to assuage it. Actually, that is not quite true. He also remembers with some embarrassment those cream Armani suits the Liverpool players wore. "To this day," he cringes, "I swear that, when we walked out before the game, everyone thought we were the band!"

The jokes aside, Fowler regards losing to United in the final as the biggest disappointment of his career and is determined not to go through the experience again if he can help it. Add all this to the player's recovery of something like his best form after two-and-a-half years of injury problems and you have a potential match-winner this afternoon.

"When we got to the final in '96," says this unlikely traditionalist, "I said then it was the best cup I would like to win. I was a big Everton fan as a kid and I loved it when they won the FA Cup and did the parade around the city. I think it's brilliant and I want to do that because it's what the FA Cup is all about. It's very traditional, the FA Cup, and for me it's the best cup competition in the world.

"There were no tears after the '96 final. I'm a lad who very rarely shows his emotions to other people, but it was probably the worst thing that ever happened - losing to Manchester United. Everyone knows Liverpool don't like losing to United and United don't like losing to Liverpool. So to lose to them in an FA Cup final was terrible and I never want it to happen again. It was the worst disappointment of my career by far."

After eight seasons and a succession of scrapes in the unforgiving media spotlight, Fowler is an experienced and wary interviewee. So, just in case anyone might think he was presuming too much by talking of finals, he was at pains to honour the conventions and show respect for today's Second Division opponents. "I don't know a lot about Wycombe at the minute," he said, "but by the time we come to the game, we will have done a lot of work on them.

"I did actually see their game against Leicester in the sixth round and Leicester found it very difficult. Wycombe played very well and deserved to win. So we can't afford to go into the game thinking it's going to be easy. I think Leicester might have thought that and came unstuck."

One factor that will not enter the equation is a thirst for revenge on Wycombe manager Lawrie Sanchez for the winning goal he scored so unexpectedly for underdogs Wimbledon against Liverpool in the 1988 final. "That's all in the past," says Fowler. "I think all the players who played for Liverpool then have stopped playing now. It's up to us to get one over on Lawrie Sanchez, not for revenge but just to get to the Cup Final."

In any case, Liverpool simply do not have the time for such minor considerations. Forced controversially to play a critical Premiership game at Ipswich on Tuesday, they then have to take on Leeds, another of their rivals for a Champions League place, and envious neighbours Everton over Easter before renewing hostilities with Barcelona three days later.

"We said at the start of the year," recalls Fowler, "that the Champions League was our priority and I think that's still the case. It would take the gloss off whatever we do achieve if we didn't qualify for it."

With this season's Worthington Cup already in the trophy cabinet, Fowler is confident Liverpool now have the strength in depth, and of mind, to handle a series of taxing matches. "With the personnel we've got in the squad," he says, "we can chop and change. Any player who comes in for somebody else will do as good a job."

Does that mean, then, that he has come to accept the once dreaded rotation of players by Houllier? "It's not been a case of coming to accept it," he says, "it's a case of having to. But over the next couple of weeks, it's actually going to prove very good for us because we are going to play a lot of games and I'm sure a few of the lads will be tired. I think we're all getting used to it now."

Needless to say, after having had a big chunk taken out of his career by knee and ankle injuries in recent years, Fowler is desperate to play as much as possible. "You realise how fortunate you are to be back playing," he admits. "I've always been confident of what I can do and what I can achieve, so I was always confident of getting back to the same level as before, and I'm nearly up there now.

"In fact, I feel very sharp at the moment. If we play the way we can play and create the chances we should be creating, then I'm always confident I will score goals. It's a few years on from my last semi-final in 1996, but it would be nice to get another couple this time."